The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

Ever since April 1, 1922 when our print forerunner, The Consumerist Bugle-Gazette, ran an April Fools’ Day cover story that unwittingly — but accurately — announced the death of exiled Austrian Emperor Charles I, we’ve not tempted fate and avoided such tomfoolery. But others aren’t burdened by these ghosts of Aprils gone awry. [More]

One of the things that has allowed Hulu to compete in the streaming video subscription market is the fact that it offers users the ability to watch some currently airing shows shortly after they’ve premiered on TV. But a new report claims that if content powerhouse Time Warner Inc. has its say, even Hulu subscribers may have to wait a long time before seeing recently aired shows. [More]

The presents have all been unwrapped, the egg nog has done its job and you’re ready to stop talking to everyone who’s been getting on your nerves all day. Here’s to hoping you’ve got access to a streaming subscription service, and your father-in-law finally figured out where he put the piece of paper with the WiFi password on it. [More]

A week after trying to lure away AT&T customers by offering them a $200 discount on a new iPhone, T-Mobile is going after Verizon customers. But instead of dangling cash back on a fancy phone, this time T-Mo is hoping that a year of free streaming video might do the trick. [More]

Do you remember 2007? Way back then in the long-long ago times, movies came on physical discs and you binge-watched a TV series by happening to turn on the TV while a Law and Order marathon was running. Now, however, it seems like basically everything streams to us over the internet… and basically the whole internet, or at least a huge fraction of it, is for streaming. [More]

For years, Netflix has been showering networks and TV production studios with gobs of cash to run their shows online. Not even two years ago, one executive said the money was so good that it was like “pure heroin” for content producers. But the best drugs often have the worst side effects, and now some TV folks are reportedly looking to break their addiction to Netflix. [More]

So you’ve got your cool virtual reality headset, and you’re just dying to try it. But what are you supposed to watch on it? Until now, there’s been a limited amount of content available for VR headsets. That’s all changed now, as Netflix announced a deal with Oculus and Samsung that includes a virtual reality version of Netflix’s entire library. [More]

Listen, we’re not here to judge you over how many hours you spent locked in a dark, air-conditioned room this weekend in front of a TV emitting a constant stream of entertainment. But once it comes time to go to work, the binge must end. Hawaii is taking steps to make it difficult for state workers to spend too much time on Netflix and Hulu, blocking those services so employees don’t waste time watching Cheers/Doctor Who/Friends from start to finish. [More]

If you’re still a bit bleary-eyed because you stayed up late watching all of the Wet Hot American Summer prequel show on Netflix last night, you’re apparently not the target consumer for Hulu, which has announced that its original program will be meted out in weekly portions. [More]

With pay-TV subscription numbers dropping as people turn to online sources for their entertainment and news, it might seem sensidble that the pay-TV giants would jump into the streaming video business. But with the exception of Dish-owned Sling TV, that hasn’t been the case. That might be because consumers appear to be quite fickle about their use of these standalone services. [More]

After years of hoping that consumers would eventually come around to the idea of paying for streaming video content that is still interrupted by obnoxious, repetitive commercials, the folks at Hulu may finally be willing to give folks the option of paying for an ad-free version of the service. [More]

Are you piggybacking on the Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc, account of a friend or family member? A new report claims that you’re part of the 6% of U.S. households that are costing these companies $500 million in revenue this year. [More]

The folks at CBS have already shown they are willing to try something new with the upcoming launch of the standalone Showtime streaming service, making it available through Sony’s PlayStation Vue live-TV platform in addition to being sold through iTunes and Roku. Today, the company announced another partnership that will sell Showtime through Hulu at a discounted rate. [More]

For years, Hulu has lingered in the shadow of Netflix, and has had some trouble convincing consumers to pay $8/month for access to shows that still have commercials in them, when neither Netflix nor Amazon Prime insert ad breaks into their videos. But the service has recently begun playing nice with the very networks that have an ownership stake in the company in order to win access to better content. [More]

If you’re in the United States, and you use the internet of an evening after work, then chances are you like your Netflix. In fact, chances are you like your Netflix a lot. And millions of other Americans seem to agree with you, because Netflix is taking up a huge amount of all prime-time internet traffic in the country. [More]